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The Taming: an Obermann-sponsored talkback with Riverside Theatre

The Obermann Center is pleased to sponsor talkbacks during Riverside Theatre's 2016-17 season. Featuring University of Iowa faculty, students, and staff, as well as community partners, these talks will provide a space for reflection and conversation.

This second talkback of the series is scheduled for November 10 following the performance of The Taming. This political farce—while referencing Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew—places a conservative senatorial aide, a liberal political activist, and a newly-crowned Miss Georgia in a bar together. The smart comedy is intentionally placed at election time.

The talkback will feature Iowa Representative Mary Mascher and UI Student Government President Rachel Zuckerman. Both women have participated in the Iowa N.E.W. Leadership program, Mascher as a "den mother" and Zuckerman as a participant. Designed to empower women across the political spectrum and increase the participation of underrepresented groups in all sectors of public leadership, the N.E.W. Leadership program currently includes a network of 23 college and university campuses. The Iowa program is administered out of the University of Iowa's Women's Resource and Action Center, which has hosted the week-long residential institute every summer for the past ten years.

In conversation with Angie Toomsen, director of The Taming, the two women will share their experiences as women in politics, as well as reflecting on the play. To attend the talkback, contact the Riverside Theatre box office to purchase tickets for the November 10 performance.